Automated Testing Software ( Automation Testing )
- is the process of software verification, in which the basic functions and steps of the test, such as running, initializing, executing, analyzing and issuing the result, are performed automatically with the help of tools for automated testing.

Automated Functional Testing Software ( Functional Automation Testing )
- This is the process of verifying the functional requirements and features of the application under test, using the tools for automated testing. (see also Functional Testing)

We offer your attention to the following topics, which give answers to the most common questions that arise during the implementation of automated testing :

• Why automate?
• What to automate?
• How to automate?
• Tool selection
• Test automation levels
• Test Architecture
• Strategy for using automated tests

We also recommend reading the articles of automated testing specialists :

• We write a system of automated tests from scratch (
• Page Objects pattern or working on science
• Page Objects pattern + Selenium (Java)
• Automated testing: working with static resources
• Starting Selenium Server

Why do you need to automate?

A lot of misconceptions are associated with the automation of testing, as well as with many of the narrowly focused IT disciplines. In order to avoid inefficient use of automation, it is necessary to bypass its disadvantages and maximize the benefits. Next, we will list and give a brief description for the main nuances of automation and give an answer to the main question of this article - when automation should be used.

Benefits of test automation:

• Repeatability - all written tests will always be executed in the same way, that is, the “human factor” is excluded. The tester will not miss the test of carelessness and will not confuse anything in the results.
• Fast execution - the automated script does not need to be checked with the instructions and documentation, it greatly saves execution time.
• Lower support costs - when automated scripts are already written, it usually takes less time to support them and analyze the results than to conduct the same amount of testing manually.
• Reports - automatically sent and saved reports on test results.
• Execute without intervention — during the execution of tests, the tester may be engaged in other useful tasks, or tests may be performed during off hours (this method is preferable since the load on the local networks is reduced at night).

Disadvantages of test automation (there are also a lot of them):

• Repeatability - all written tests will always be executed in the same way. This is also a disadvantage, as the tester, performing a manual test, can pay attention to some details and, after performing several additional operations, find the defect. The script can not do this.
• The cost of support - despite the fact that in the case of automated tests, they are less than the cost of manual testing of the same functionality - they are still there. The more often the application changes, the higher they are.
• High development costs — the development of automated tests is a complex process, since an application that actually tests another application is actually being developed. In complex automated tests, there are also frameworks, utilities, libraries, and more. Naturally, all this needs to be tested and debugged, and this takes time.
• The cost of a tool for automation - in the case of using licensed software, its cost can be quite high. Freely distributed tools are usually more modest in functionality and less user friendly.
• Skipping minor errors - the automatic script may skip minor errors to check which it is not programmed. This may be inaccuracies in the positioning of windows, errors in the inscriptions that are not checked, errors of controls and forms with which the interaction does not take place during the execution of the script.

In order to decide whether to automate an application, you need to answer the question “do the benefits in our case outweigh the benefits?” - at least for some of the functionality of our application. If you cannot find such parts, or defects in your case are unacceptable - you should refrain from automation.

When making a decision, it is worth remembering that the alternative is manual testing, which has its drawbacks.

In the search for effective places to automate you can help the chapter "What you need to automate."

What you need to automate?

Asking: “ What to automate? ", You must first answer the question:" Is it expedient to automate testing under project conditions? " If the answer is "YES", then it is necessary, based on the requirements for the test object, to create a plan according to which automated tests will be developed. When creating such a document, you must clearly understand “ what to automate? ”, “How to automate?” and "how to automate?". We will not go into details on how and how to test this or that function, we simply list the places where , in our opinion, automation should be used :

1. Hard to reach places in the system (backend processes, file logging, writing to the database)
2. Frequently used functionality, the risks from errors are quite high. By automating the verification of critical functionality, you can ensure that errors are found quickly, and hence their quick solution.
3. Routine operations, such as enumeration of data (forms with a large number of input fields. Automate filling in fields with various data and checking them after saving)
4. Validation messages (Automate filling in fields with incorrect data and checking for the appearance of one or another validation)
5. Long end-to-end scripts
6. Verification of data requiring accurate mathematical calculations
7. Validation of data retrieval

And also, much more, depending on the requirements for the system under test and the capabilities of the chosen tool for testing.

For more efficient use of test automation, it is better to develop separate test cases checking:

• The basic operations of creating / reading / modifying / deleting entities (the so-called CRUD operations are Create / Read / Update / Delete).

  Example : creating, deleting, viewing and changing user data.

• Typical application scenarios, or individual actions.

  Example : a user visits a mailing site, scrolls through letters, browses new ones, writes and sends an email, leaves the site. This is the so-called end-to-end script that tests a set of actions. We suggest that you use just such scenarios, since they allow you to return the system to the state as close as possible to the original one, which means that it has a minimal effect on other tests.

• Interfaces, work with files and other moments that are inconvenient for manual testing.

  Example : the system creates some xml file whose structure needs to be checked.

This is the functionality, from the automation of testing which, you can get the greatest return.